I've decided to join the army.

Well I've been considering MI since my friends and family want me to do something that would help me if I leave the Army. Though all the people I've spoken to have told me to go 11B if I really want to be a shooter. So I'm pretty conflicted here, I want to be a professional soldier and I realize the burdens and hardships I'll have to endure. But at the same time I feel kind of pressured by my family to do something not dangerous.

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MI soldiers have died in the AOR. There is no such thing as a safe job.
Is your mom enlisting? any other family members? Enlist for the job you want; not the job others want you to have.

Well I just found out a couple of jobs that are open for me. The one in particular that interested me was 35M (HUMINT), my recruiter told me considering the fact I want to work in the Special Operations side of the Army that I should really consider this job. I just want to know more about it, anyone have any info? I Once again it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the advice and support guys.

35M is very interesting work. It used to be called 97E Interrogator but now it is HUMINT collector. You should google that term for a good description there is a lot of unclassified info available for you to study. When you first go in you will attend the class and then deploy soon after because there is a shortage. Once you reach E-5 SGT you will be given the choice to go to DLI and learn a foreign language OR reclass to 35L Counterintelligence Special Agent. 35Ms do not deal with Imagery and what not. They DO go outside the wire regularly because that is where they collect HUMAN intelligence (In garrison a 35M may be bored because it is illegal to collect HUMAN intel in the U.S). They assist 35L in Counterintelligence Operations as well. 35M have a healthy mix of reports and field work. In MI there is always tons of reports to do. If you dont want to do reports dont come into MI. EVERYTHING has a report or two or three that needs to be completed. In the field neither wear nametags or rank and have latitude on uniform wear depending on mission (and of course the Team leader) If you are into high speed stuff in MI, 35M and 35L can be where you find it at, especially if you get Airborne in your contract. If you enlist Active duty and get Airborne you will likely wind up with the 82nd Airborne, Ranger RGT or an SF group. You will have the opportunity to attend some special schools down the road and some nice opportunities will open up for you in the Army, with a Civilian agency later or as a contractor. I wish I could tell you that life as a 35M/L is all splendid but it isnt always and a lot will depend on your unit. One of my good friends (a 35L) was crossleveled from my old reserve unit and went to Afghanistan, grew a beard, got issued all kinds of toys and went out of the wire with the SF ODA team regularly. He had nothing but good things to say when he came back and is very proud of his SF combat patch. On the other hand, MANY more of my battle buddies have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan for 365 days and were chained to a desk. The ONLY time they left the wire was when they got leave home or when it was time to redeploy home at the end of their tour. Both are jobs that need doing but just realize that it could go down like that. As far as the difference between being Airborne MI and not? All the Active Duty 35M (it was 97E then) or 35L that had Airborne in their contract (from day one at MEPS) or requested it at Ft. Huachuca went to the 82nd or an SF group (none went to Ranger RGT) the ones who did NOT volunteer for Airborne were mad because they all got Korea except for 2 guys (they went to Panama and Germany). A lot of the ones that went to Korea wound up pumping gas in the motor pool and things like that. They damn sure were not doing any kind of MI work and couldnt wait to get PCSed from Korea. My boys at the 82nd all got qualified Expert within a short time of arriving cause they were always at the range , got to jump a lot and were loving life in general.

Apparently you must be a pretty smart kid and got good scores on your ASVAB for them to offer you 35M. If you should happen to decide to pass up on 11B and make a move on the 35M slot make sure you get Airborne. I went in when I was 21 (reservist) and didnt get Airborne (now I want to go but it will be as a 35 year old or older) You dont want to have regrets. Your parents arent going to like it and I dont think there are too many older guys on this board who will sit up here and tell you that their parents were crazy about them joining the Army. Thats just how it is. My mom did everything she could to get me to consider the Navy. Do whats going to make you happy in the long run.

1st, thanks for MC's. I used them for a ghillie base in SFSC part deux a couple months ago.

2nd: Be wary of a recruiter telling you anything about special operations unless he has a tab on his shoulder. I'm not saying you won't work with SOF as a 35m, but you're going to get better info on this forum regarding SOF than you are from your recruiter. Ironic, but true.

35M is a good job with multiple opportunities. If you took the time to read BravoOne's post, then you can see what much of your time will be spent doing: Reading and writing (Bravo, not a knock on you or your job).

My personal experience with intel geeks of all uniformed and un-uniformed persuasions is they're overeducated and under experienced. The ones that have been in the job a while (a decade or more) are usually G2G or so far beyond repair that you put them on the phone and not much else. Kids that come straight on the job after AIT, or worse, recruited out of college with a degree in International Relations, have a lot on their shoulders and usually do more harm than good.

Do what's going to make you happy. Don't do this for your parents. This is your career. If they still want you to live at home in five years, then let them make the decision for you. I still think that spending a couple years in Regiment is the way to go. I'm sure I told you this before, but I wish I had. Nice thing about 35M is you can reclass to it after you get blown up or break yourself on a jump. In addition, if you spend your time in the trenches, you'll have better rapport with the guys you get attached to as HUMINT collector. If you're young and fit, sling lead.

Well I just found out a couple of jobs that are open for me. The one in particular that interested me was 35M (HUMINT), my recruiter told me considering the fact I want to work in the Special Operations side of the Army that I should really consider this job. I just want to know more about it, anyone have any info? I Once again it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the advice and support guys.

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Yeah, your recruiter is trying to fill a quota for 35m's. You do not have any guarantee of working with SOF in this skillset. You will more than likely be put into one of those "special troops battalions" (GAY). Everyone is special nowadays. Do what you think you will enjoy, but if you want to work with SOF, be SOF dummy!

Alright well thanks for all the advice guys, I'm supposed to go MEPS tomorrow, but I'm not sure because the jobs I'm really looking at all ship out before my Graduation date. so there's no way in hell I'd be able to go, unless they give me a later ship date. I'm really considering 68W, but as I stated earlier the ship date is too early. What should I do? not go to meps and wait? or go to the guidance counselor tomorrow and ask for a later ship date?

Well its official, I took the oath today and am now enlisted in the US Army. I would just like to thank everyone on this board for all the advice and support, I really do appreciate it. I weighed my options and what I want out of my future and I'm pretty sure I made the right choice. So once again; Thanks everyone!

Well its official, I took the oath today and am now enlisted in the US Army. I would just like to thank everyone on this board for all the advice and support, I really do appreciate it. I weighed my options and what I want out of my future and I'm pretty sure I made the right choice. So once again; Thanks everyone!